With four straight octagon defeats over the past six-and-a-half years, Brazilian fighter Jorge Santiago (25-10 MMA, 1-4 UFC) knows the UFC hasn’t been kind to him. But on the eve of his welterweight debut for the promotion, “The Sandman” promises everything will be different.

“I already had the right habits,” Santiago told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in his native Portuguese. “My wife is a nutritionist, so that makes things easy. I am able to cut weight without suffering. My physical therapist is also very helpful. I think I fit well at 170 pounds, and I think [the drop in weight class] is a very good decision.”

At 32 years old and with more than a decade in the sport, Santiago’s decision to return to welterweight after nearly eight years wasn’t one he took lightly. After all, Santiago went 11-1 during a 12-fight run that saw him competing largely in Japan, where he earned World Victory Road/Sengoku’s middleweight title.

But a 2011 return to the UFC saw him drop-back-to-back fights to Demian Maia and Brian Stann, and he began to reconsider his options.

“That was my problem in the UFC: my size,” Santiago said. “In Japan, the difference is not so great since they don’t cut much weight compared to American wrestlers. I think that’s something that hurt me in the UFC.

“Brian Stann used to fight at 205 pounds. He’s a big guy. Nowadays a lot of the middleweights are that big. When I fought in Japan, my walk-around weight was never more than 10 pounds above my fighting weight.”

The UFC released Santiago following those back-to-back defeats, and it was then that he considered his options. He didn’t immediately move to 170 pounds but instead booked a two-fight stint under the Titan Fighting Championship banner, where he scored back-to-back first-round stoppage wins.

“One goal at Titan was to correct whatever was wrong in my game,” Santiago said. “I am now more efficient. I’m back to fighting with the same instincts I had at the start of my career. I’m more aggressive.

“Several factors helped, including the fact that I’m one of the coaches for the Blackzilians. This allowed me a different point of view of my own style. While helping other athletes improve, I found ways to improve myself. As seen in my two fights at Titan FC, I’ve completely changed my way of fighting.”

Those changes ultimately led to a Strikeforce contract, and Santiago was expected to fight Quinn Mulhern this past September. There was one more setback to endure when that fight card was canceled, but when the organization folded, Santiago was absorbed into the UFC along with many other fighters.

He returns to the octagon Saturday night to face top-rated prospect Gunnar Nelson (10-0-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the main card of UFC on FUEL TV 7, which takes place at London’s Wembley Arena. It may very well be a make-or-break situation for Santiago, who has not tasted victory in the promotion since a 2006 win over Justin Levens.

That doesn’t matter to Santiago, who feels he has a new lease on his professional career and is ready to shine at 170 pounds.

“I love doing this,” Santiago said. “I think I was born for this. It’s what motivates a fighter.

“My last challenge was to retool myself and fight my way back to the UFC. I do this because I love it.”

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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